Seeing what we want to see: Motivation shapes perceptual judgments and
category-selective activity in the ventral visual stream
Yuan Chang Leong, Brent Hughes, & Jamil Zaki
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Introduction
Behavioral Results
Cooperation
Competition
•  People often trust their visual system to construct an objective
representation of the physical world
Multivoxel Pattern Analysis
•  Yet, previous work suggests that goals, desires and wants can influence what
people see.
•  In this study, we explored the neural mechanisms underlying motivational
1
influences on visual perception.
1
Bet Face
% scene
Cooperation
55%
60%
PSE
= 49.6%
PSEFace
= f49.6%
PSE
=
47.9%
h
PSEscene = 47.9% 50%
0.5
0.5
65%
100%
Task
0.25
0.25
Competition
0.75
0.5
0.5
PSE
47.0%
PSE
Facef ==47.0%
h==50.3%
PSEPSE
50.3%
Scene
n=33
n =33
Bet x Condition Interaction, p < 0.001
Bet x Condition
Interaction, p < 0.001
•  The reward maximizing strategy was to ignore the bets, and classify the
images as accurately as possible.
1
0.25
•  Yet, in both conditions, participants
were more likely to report seeing a
1
scene when they were motivated
to
see
a
scene,
and
seeing
a face when
0.25
they were motivated to see a face
0.75
0
Neural
Results
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
0
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 Motivationally
45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100 consistent
0.75
0
100:0
choice
> 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
Motivationally inconsistent choice
striatum
insula
Proportion respond scene
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
Proportion respond scene
0
0.5
0.5
cingulate
Classifier Probability for Scene
35%
45%
Proportion respond scene
Proportion respond scene
0%
40%
0.75
0.75
Proportion respond scene
% scene
Proportion respond scene
0.75
Bet Scene
Pattern Classification Results
Cooperation
Competition
1
1
Bet Face
x = -6 0
Desired Errors > Undesired Correct
Teammate’s Bet
Classification
+50 cents +40 cents
-30 cents -40 cents
Opponent’s Bet
-30 cents -40 cents
+50 cents +40 cents
PSEf = 47.0%
PSEh=Interaction,
50.3%
Bet x Condition
pn=33
= 0.02
0.5
•  Category-selective activity in the ventral visual stream
was enhanced
Bet x Condition
Interaction, for
p < 0.001
0.5
motivationally-consistent features
0.25both perceptual judgments and neural
•  Wanting to see a percept biases
responses in favor of motivationally consistent features
•  Seeing what one wants to see is associated with activity in reward and
0
salience
related
regions
in
the
brain
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
100:0 65:35 60:40 55:45 50:50 45:55
40:60 35:65
•  Activity
in 0:100
the IPS
IPS
Seeing the desired category when the image
is of the other category is associated with
activity in the IPS
Classification
% Scene
Conclusions
0.25
0.25
z = -2
0.75
PSEf = 49.6%
PSEh= 47.9%
0.25
0
Bet Scene
0.75
Proportion respond scene
Proportion respond scene
1
Stimuli
Ventral visual stream
1
0
65:35 60:40 55:45
50:50
45:55 40:60 35:65 0:100
is associated with100:0
motivationally
biased
perceptions
•  Future work will formally characterize the motivational bias using drift
diffusion models, and explore connectivity patterns that predict biased
perceptions
Does motivation bias information accumulation in favor of desirable percepts?
Does the IPS modulate activity in the ventral visual stream to bias perception?
x = 44
All results TFCE corrected p < 0.05
How does motivation modulate global brain states?